Seventy original songs have qualified for consideration for the upcoming Academy Awards. That is down considerably from the record 91 entered last year. Among these are tunes by some of music’s biggest stars: Taylor Swift (“I Don’t Want to Live Forever” from “Fifty Shades Darker”); Mary J. Blige (“Mighty River” from “Mudbound,” in which she has a featured role); Mariah Carey (“The Star” from the film of the same name); Elvis Costello (“You Shouldn’t Look at Me That Way” from “Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool”); Nick Jonas (“Home” from “Ferdinand”); and Questlove (“It Ain’t Fair” from “Detroit”).

Last year’s Best Original Song winners, “La La Land” tunesmiths Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, are back in the running with “This Is Me” from “The Greatest Showman.” Robert Lopez, who completed the EGOT in 2015 with his win for “Let It Go” from “Frozen” is in contention once again with his wife Kristen Anderson-Lopez for “Remember Me” from “Coco.” Also looking to add another Oscar to his mantle is eight-time champ Alan Menken, who composed two new tunes — “Evermore” and “How Does A Moment Last Forever” — for the live-action version of “Beauty and the Beast. He won this award in 1992 for the title tune to that animated classic.

Hoping for her first Oscar after eight losses is Diane Warren who teamed up with 2015 category champ Common on “Stand Up for Something” from “Marshall.” Likewise for Kenneth Branagh, who has contended unsuccessfully in five different Oscar categories. This talented multi-hyphenate co-wrote “Never Forget,” which played over the end credits of “Murder on the Orient Express,” which he both directed and starred.

To be eligible to contend at the Oscars, a song had to have both words and music that are original and written specifically for the film. A clearly audible, intelligible, substantive rendition of both lyric and melody must be used in the body of the film or as the first music cue in the end credits.

Members of the music branch will be sent a DVD compilation of the songs as they are showcased in their films. They will rank five of these and the nominees will be the five songs that earn the total highest scores. No film can have more than two songs nominated.

Below, a list of these tunes arranged alphabetically by the films in which they are featured.

“U.N.I (You And I)” from “And the Winner Isn’t”
“Love And Lies” from “Band Aid”
“If I Dare” from “Battle of the Sexes”
“Evermore” from “Beauty and the Beast”
“How Does A Moment Last Forever” from “Beauty and the Beast”
“Now Or Never” from “Bloodline: Now or Never”
“She” from “Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story”
“Your Hand I Will Never Let It Go” from “The Book of Henry”
“Buddy’s Business” from “Brawl in Cell Block 99”
“The Crown Sleeps” from “The Breadwinner”
“World Gone Mad” from “Bright”
“Mystery Of Love” from “Call Me by Your Name”
“Visions Of Gideon” from “Call Me by Your Name”
“Captain Underpants Theme Song” from “Captain Underpants The First Epic Movie”
“Ride” from “Cars 3”
“Run That Race” from “Cars 3”
“Tell Me How Long” from “Chasing Coral”
“Broken Wings” from “City of Ghosts”
“Remember Me” from “Coco”
“Prayers For This World” from “Cries from Syria”
“There’s Something Special” from “Despicable Me 3”
“It Ain’t Fair” from “Detroit”
“A Little Change In The Weather” from “Downsizing”
“Stars In My Eyes (Theme From Drawing Home)” from “Drawing Home”
“All In My Head” from “Elizabeth Blue”
“Dying For Ya” from “Elizabeth Blue”
“Green” from “Elizabeth Blue”
“Can’t Hold Out On Love” from “Father Figures”
“Home” from “Ferdinand”
“I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” from “Fifty Shades Darker”
“You Shouldn’t Look At Me That Way” from “Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool”
“This Is How You Walk On” from “Gifted”
“Summer Storm” from “The Glass Castle”
“The Pure And The Damned” from “Good Time”
“This Is Me” from “The Greatest Showman”
“The Hero” from “The Hero”
“How Shall A Sparrow Fly” from “Hostiles”
“Just Getting Started” from “If You’re Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast”
“Truth To Power” from “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power”
“Next Stop, The Stars” from “Kepler’s Dream”
“The Devil & The Huntsman” from “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword”
“Have You Ever Wondered” from “Lake of Fire”
“I’ll Be Gone” from “Lake of Fire”
“We’ll Party All Night” from “Lake of Fire”
“Friends Are Family” from “The Lego Batman Movie”
“Found My Place” from “The Lego Ninjago Movie”
“Stand Up For Something” from “Marshall”
“Rain” from “Mary and the Witch’s Flower”
“Myron/Byron” from “The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)”
“Longing For Summer” from “Moomins and the Winter Wonderland”
“Mighty River” from “Mudbound”
“Never Forget” from “Murder on the Orient Express”
“Hold The Light” from “Only the Brave”
“PBNJ” from “Patti Cake$”
“Tuff Love (Finale)” from “Patti Cake$”
“Lost Souls” from “The Pirates of Somalia”
“How A Heart Unbreaks” from “Pitch Perfect 3”
“The Promise” from “The Promise”
“Kaadanayum Kaalchilambe” from “Pulimurugan”
“Maanathe Maarikurumbe” from “Pulimurugan”
“Stubborn Angel” from “Same Kind of Different as Me”
“Dancing Through The Wreckage” from “Served Like a Girl”
“Keep Your Eyes On Me” from “The Shack”
“On The Music Goes” from “Slipaway”
“The Star” from “The Star”
“Jump” from “Step”
“Tickling Giants” from “Tickling Giants”
“Fly Away” from “Trafficked”
“Speak To Me” from “Voice from the Stone”
“Walk On Faith” from “Year by the Sea”

Be sure to make your Oscar nomination predictions so that Hollywood studio executives can see how their films are faring in our Academy Awards odds. Don’t be afraid to jump in now since you can keep changing your predictions until just before nominees are announced on January 23.

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